JAK CHAT

Remembering. Rebuilding. Rewarding! Just Add Kids' drive to supply Mitchell Middle School's AfterZone by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann UPDATE BELOW! REGARDING AD OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESSES/ORGANIZATIONS/INDIVIDUALS! I remember years ago as I was folding laundry in my first family home here in Racine. A typical Saturday. I was flipping thru the channels and stopped when I happened upon a young group of kids performing music scenes from "Annie". I was so impressed. The show was produced well, the kids did an amazing job, and I really liked the balloon arch that hovered overhead the kids on stage. First thought was that it was a dance studio from Chicago. I'm not sure why. The credits rolled at the end and I was intrigued to find out this was THE 1st grade annual performance at Jefferson Lighthouse Magnet School in Racine. As a soon to be dance mom, that show made a long-standing mark in my memory. Read more... Fast-forward, 15 years maybe? My number 3 daught...

Say No To Bad Selfies! : ) Sponsored by Pixologie, Inc.  We love, love photos at Pixologie! So, my friend, Paula at Just Add Kids, was telling me about how her kids use her smartphone to take many “selfies.” When she mentioned that, I groaned. (Okay, we don’t love all photos.) Her biggest problem (besides her kids just using the phone) was something like, “Well, how can I delete them?” Admittedly, some of her kids’ “selfies” were adorable, but most of the selfies, in my humble opinion, just needed to be trashed. I am going to make a categorical statement in my life, “Say No To Selfies.” (hashtag is #saynotobadselfies). After talking with Paula and her assistant, Theresa, we came to the following conclusions: Selfies clutter our phones. Selfies, while fun in the moment,tend to desensitize children and teenagers and really seem, at a deeper level, a form of self-disrespect. Consider the headline in a recent New York Times article, “With Some Selfies, the Uglier the Better.” See the ...

For Those "In" Service...  It's We Care Packs               My name is Katie Pollock, I am a ninth grade student at Tremper High School in Kenosha, WI. I am working on a community service project. It began when I was in the seventh grade looking for a community service project for National Junior Honor Society and it has continued on since then. My mom's coworker has a son who was critically wounded while serving our country. We discussed the need to support our troops, so I decided to work on collecting items to send to the soldiers that they can use for daily life. These items are put into care packages to be sent to them in Afghanistan. They include things like: tea, books, lotion, cookies, candy, soap, dental care items, socks, etc. In order to receive these products for the packages, I reach out to companies and ask for donations. We also have had donation drives.    Read more... Once we get enough products we have a “packing party”.  At these packing parties th...

Spring Break! Staycation-Style (Updated 6/10/2014)              Written by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann   Not on your way to Phoenix or Florida or somewhere else south where your face won't freeze? Nah, me neither. It's spring break for a great number of us, and I'm sure like some of you, traveling far far away just wasn't in the cards for me and my family. C'mon and give a big "boo hoo" with me. Well, dang it, we've got 40's in our future, and just because I'm stuck here in good 'ole Southeastern Wisconsin, doesn't mean I can't get escape the cold. Come with me as I share some options... Read more.... I'm not going to overwhelm you, or myself. I've got to work most of the next coming week, yet I am going to break away.  So, here are 3 unique ideas, I think! The first thing that pops into my mind is warmth and water....Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark! Located in Lake Geneva, our destination is probably an hour or...

Communication Breach By Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Good grief, is all I can say.  I've seen the fallout of communication gone bad when the choice mode has gone from talking face-to-face or on the phone, versus communication via your fingertips (texting, emailing, messaging).  I made, perhaps, a bad decision. Last week, I spent a great deal of time addressing the real challenges we parents face with keeping our kids safe from online predators. I went to an informative presentation on the subject, I dialoged about it on Facebook with other concerned parents, I found out that my son (seemingly from everything he told me) was a target...I even wrote a blog about it:   Read more... Creeper Alert: Proceed with Caution . I have not, and probably will never move on from that subject. Peeps, it's here. It's our reality. I'm living it. My kids are living it. If you are not there, your kids are either too young, or you've decided not to open that can of worms. If y...

Creeper Alert! Proceed with Caution                   Written by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann    My post on Facebook read like this: "Parents, PULEEEEEZ, take note! A friend posted this on her Facebook page a couple of days ago, and with her permission, I am sharing this "lessons learned" story with you all... "P, my 4yr old has been extremely tired for the last 10 days ...or so...I chalked it up to the fact that he has been sick & his body has just needed more sleep then normal or maybe he is growing....WRONG!! Last night kids tucked into bed...devices turned off...no more T.V. & lights out by 10pm...I then went to bed myself...I don't know why but at 1:30am I awoke...maybe I heard a noise or maybe it was finally a Mother's intuition kicking in...first stop...the boy's room!! & sure enough...P had his iPad & was watching Netflix!!". Read more... Are you kidding me!! No wonder he has been SO tired!! I don't how long ...

Happy Mom-Time,  Sometimes. by Just Add Kids guest mom blogger, Colleen from SE Wisconsin I am a 41 year old single mother of three fabulous kids. I don't have much, I struggle, and I lost a lot with the end of my last relationship. I have no regrets and I love my life, and like any mom I do anything and everything possible for my kids. They come first, they are my heartbeat. Early in the summer of 2013 I began to date again, a wonderfully kind, caring, loving man, Scott. We eventually planned a getaway to Florida, he wanted to take me to Disney World and I was thrilled at the thought of a vacation, a little break from reality. During the weeks leading up to our vacation, I would fantasize of walking hand in hand with Scott on the white, warm sand.  Days where my son with autism drained me, I would keep thinking about sandy beaches. Days where I struggled with their father trying to make arrangements for him to watch his son D, and being told  no he wouldn't....well, I'd st...